Third in History Achieved Against Czech Republic: A 'Turnaround' Written After Overcoming Injury

[Anchor]

Hwang In-beom, the "engine" of our national team's midfield, delivered a stellar performance with one goal and one assist. He struggled with injuries throughout the year and even suffered a severe ankle injury last March, keeping him out of action for nearly two months. However, he became the protagonist of the comeback victory in the most important first match of the World Cup.

Reporter Jeon Young-min has the story.

[Reporter]

From the start, Hwang In-beom created numerous opportunities with his signature intuitive passing and shook the Czech midfield with smooth Marseille turns and mid-range shots.

Then, in the 22nd minute of the second half, with the team trailing 1-0, he penetrated the space behind the defense to score a precious equalizer.

With an exquisite ball touch, he deceived three Czech players before calmly finishing with a chip shot.

In the 35th minute of the second half, he delivered a fast and accurate cross to set up Oh Hyeon-gyu's winning goal.

Hwang In-beom is the third player in history to record both a goal and an assist in a single World Cup match for our team, following Choi Soon-ho in 1986 and Hong Myung-bo in 1994.

Hwang led the team to victory by completing 70 passes, the most on the team.

[Hwang In-beom/National Football Team Midfielder: I think every player did their best to help each other, so I want to say thank you to the team.]

Hwang spent a difficult time last year due to a series of injuries, and a severe ankle injury last March even made his inclusion in the final roster uncertain.

However, after ending his club season early, he quickly regained his form at the base camp and created the best day of his life in Guadalajara.

[Hwang In-beom/National Football Team Midfielder: There were injuries, but I thought a lot about what I needed to do to raise my own value. I'm relieved that I was able to show (that I am still in form) to the older players and my teammates.]

Along with Hwang, Lee Kang-in also troubled the Czech players with his flashy footwork.

Showing his presence with several sharp through-balls, Lee Kang-in smiled brightly as he recorded an assist in his second consecutive World Cup tournament.

Reported by Hwang In-seok | Video by Ha Seong-won | Graphics by Kim Ye-ji
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.